Pointing Out The Obvious
by Zalanor
Summary: A collection of one-shots, in which Harry asks questions pointing out things that don't quite make sense.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Vault 713**

_Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole. "Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away. "If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook. "How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked. "About once every ten years," said Griphook, with a rather nasty grin._

A thought occurred to Harry. "Er, Hagrid? If the You-Know-What is really important, why is Professor Dumbledore making it easier to get to?" Hagrid paused, his hand hovering over whatever was in the vault. "Wha' d'ya mean, easier, Harry?" "If someone who isn't a Gringotts goblin tries to open the vault gets sucked inside and trapped there, and they only check to see once in ten years – anyone who tries to steal whatever's in there would starve to death before they could ever get out!"

Hagrid straightened up, drawing in a long breath of surprise. "Blimey, Harry, I reckon Dumbledore 'imself wouldn't 'ave thought o' tha'! You'll probably end up in Ravenclaw, comin' up with things like that!" He turned to Griphook. "I'll 'ave to talk to Dumbledore about this. Can we go back now, please, but slower?" "One speed only." Griphook said.

***Time skip***

When the school year began, there were two main topics of discussion among the student body. The first was Harry. The second was Professor Quirrell. Nobody had seen or heard of him since Harry and Hagrid encountered him at the Leaky Cauldron. Eventually, there was an answer to the mystery. On September the 22nd, the headline of the Daily Prophet was "Hogwarts Professor Found Dead In Gringotts Vault!" The article detailed how Quirinius Quirrell had been found dead of starvation inside Gringotts vault 713. A quote from one of the goblins was quite funny, in a morbid sort of way. "It says _you may find more than treasure there_ on the door for a reason. One of the things a thief may find in Gringotts is death, in all sorts of painful ways, some faster than others."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Warning**

"_And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." _ Harry frowned. "Is he completely insane?" he muttered to Percy. "What do you mean, Harry?" Harry sighed. "There is something that can cause a _very painful death_ in a school, and he just told everyone where it was, and not to go there. How long do you reckon it'll be before someone gets dared to go in there, or goes and looks out of curiosity?" Percy frowned. "Knowing my brothers, about a week, if that."

As it happened, nobody went into the forbidden corridor, because they didn't have the chance. Harry had not been the only one to pick up on Professor Dumbledore's warning, and quite a few students sent letters straight to their parents. Three days into the term, and a practical horde of adults marched up to the castle. Susan Bones spotted her aunt Amelia among them as they walked past the greenhouses, explaining to the other first years that she was the head of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry.

That evening at dinner, Professor Dumbledore announced that the third floor corridor was no longer out of bounds.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: First Years Getting Lost**

The first year Gryffindors grouped together nervously in the common room on their first morning. Percy frowned at them. "Come on then, down to breakfast with you." They shuffled their feet nervously before Ron burst out "How are we supposed to get there Percy? We don't know the way!" Hermione Granger cut in "Or the way to any of our classes. We won't lose house points for being late because we got lost, will we?"

Percy shook his head, saying "The teachers will understand for the first couple of weeks, with the possible exception of Professor Snape." (Harry overhead Fred and George, who were passing, mutter to each other "Did Percy just disrespect a teacher, George? I believe he did, Fred. There's hope for him yet.") Percy guided the first years down to the Great Hall. When they got there, he went to speak to Professor McGonagall at the staff table. Harry didn't hear what she said, but he saw her smile. A few minutes later, Professor McGonagall came to give them their timetables. "Your timetables will point you in the direction of your classes. This will last for three weeks. I expect you all to have learned your way about the castle by then."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Troll Incident**

_Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the Hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table and gasped "Troll – in the dungeons – thought you ought to know." He then sank to the floor in a dead faint. There was uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence. "Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your houses back to the dormitories immediately!"_

That didn't make sense to Harry. They were all safe where they were, and Professor Quirrell had seen the troll in the dungeons. But that didn't mean it was still there. He had to do something. Despite his fear of having everyone's eyes on him, he stood up and shouted "Wouldn't it make more sense for us all to stay in here, sir?!" You could have heard a pin drop. Professor Dumbledore, along with everyone else, stared at Harry. His face growing red, he carried on. "Professor Quirrell said the troll is in the dungeons. But that was _when he saw it_. It doesn't mean it's _still there! _Besides, if it is still in the dungeons, I'm pretty sure that's where the Slytherin dormitory is." His piece said and his face feeling hot enough to fry an egg on, Harry sat down. Then he was worried, even more than before. Professor Dumbledore got up from his chair, and slowly walked down to stand over him. Harry's heart was pounding in his chest, as Professor Dumbledore reached out… and shook his hand!

Professor Dumbledore announced to the speechless school "Twenty-five points to Gryffindor, Mr. Potter, for seeing something with your youthful mind something that my old one had overlooked. Heads of House, please count your students and ensure that they are all present." The register took a while, but when Professor McGonagall discovered Hermione Granger wasn't in the Hall, she went off like a shot to find her. Eventually, it was announced that the troll had been dealt with. When Professor McGonagall discovered that it was because of Ron that Hermione had been in the toilets crying instead of at the feast, she gave him a week's worth of detentions.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Malfoy's Challenge**

"_Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?" "You're a lot brave now you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you", said Harry coolly. There was of course nothing little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl. "I'd take you on at any time on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only – no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"_

Harry thought quickly. He hadn't heard of a wizard's duel, but he didn't want to admit that to Malfoy. He also didn't want to get in trouble for breaking the rules if he could help it. He raised his hand and called "Professor McGonagall? Professor McGonagall?" Malfoy suddenly looked pale. "What are you doing, Potter? Scared of losing?" "I want to check we're allowed to duel, Malfoy, before I win," Harry said with a small smile. Professor McGonagall came down from the High Table. "Yes, Mr Potter, what is it?" "Malfoy just challenged me to duel him tonight, Professor. Is that allowed?"

Professor McGonagall's eyes narrowed. "It most certainly is not, Mr Potter. Ten points to Gryffindor for thinking before acting, and Mr Malfoy" – McGonagall spun round to look at him – "twenty points from Slytherin for challenging another student to a duel." Malfoy scowled at Harry and slunk back to the Slytherin table, followed by Crabbe and Goyle.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: The 3****rd**** Floor Corridor Door**

"_What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does." Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again. "You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?" "The floor?" Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads." "No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something."_

Harry suddenly went stiff. A thought had just occurred to him, and he didn't like it one bit. "There's another problem, though." "What?" asked Hermione scathingly. "The problem that we almost got killed?" "No, but it's almost as bad. That was the forbidden corridor, right Hermione? If a place is forbidden, you make it so people can't go there." "Obviously." "So the point is, if it's forbidden, why is the security so weak that you – a brilliant first year, but a first year nonetheless – can get past it?"

Hermione's lips had formed a O shape when Harry called her brilliant, but they quickly snapped into a thin line of determination. "We need to tell a teacher." Ron bolted upright. "Are you mad? "Professor McGonagall, we were out of bed at midnight, and we went in the forbidden corridor. If it's forbidden, why could we get in?" Harry shook his head. "We don't say it like that, obviously. How about – yesterday evening we were looking for somewhere quiet to practice Charms, and we found what we thought was an empty classroom, but it was locked, and Hermione used _Alohomora_, and it turned out we'd accidentally got in the third floor corridor. Then McGonagall knows it was an accident, and nobody knows that we were out of bed when we shouldn't have been. _Then_ we ask about how come Hermione could unlock the door if it's forbidden."

The matter settled, they went to bed. The next day, after Transfiguration, Harry, Ron and Hermione stayed behind to give their story to Professor McGonagall. When they finished stammering it out, she had an expression like thunder on her face, but was quick to reassure them that she was not cross with _them_, and awarded them seventy-five points for "discovering a serious flaw in the safety protections of the school and reporting it immediately". For the rest of the day, the teachers could be seen going in and out of the third floor corridor. At the evening meal, Professor Dumbledore stood up and announced that the third floor corridor was no longer forbidden.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Hagrid & the Egg**

"_Hagrid, you live in a wooden house" she said .But Hagrid wasn't listening. He was humming merrily as he stoked the fire._ As they left Hagrid's hut behind, Harry and Hermione burst out almost at the same time "We need to tell a teacher!" Ron's eyes almost popped out of his head with surprise. "Have you both gone completely mental?" he demanded. "If we tell a teacher, Hagrid'll end up in Azkaban!" "What's Azkaban?" asked Hermione. "Wizard prison, it's horrible," replied Ron. "Dad had to go visit once, and he felt miserable for days afterwards."

"He'd probably end up there anyway," said Harry sadly. "Think about it. We don't tell a teacher, the egg hatches, the dragon burns Hagrid's house down, and he goes to Azkaban for having a dragon. We tell a teacher, he gets caught, and goes to Azkaban for having an egg. We don't tell, it hatches, it doesn't burn his house down but someone sees it and he gets caught, then goes to Azkaban for having a dragon. And on top of that, whoever it was who gave him the egg gets away with it, and steals the Stone."

"What do you mean, "steals the Stone"?" asked Ron. "What Hagrid wants most in the world is a dragon egg, and then he meets someone _who just happens to have one_? How many people walk around with dragon eggs in their pockets? How much would you bet that someone got information about the Stone out of him with it, _like we just did?_"

Ron gulped nervously. "Yeah, you're right. Hagrid's a nice bloke, but something's not right about that egg." A few minutes later, they found Professor McGonagall in her classroom, marking homework. "We need to talk to you, Professor," said Harry nervously. "Yes, Mr Potter, what is it?" Professor McGonagall crisply. "It's about Hagrid, Professor. He's got a dragon egg." "Don't be ridiculous, Mr Potter, why would"- "It's true, Professor," added Hermione. "We've just seen it." "A Norwegian Ridgeback egg" Ron cut in. The stare Professor McGonagall gave them could have split rock. "You will stay here," she said sternly, "while I investigate your claims. If they turn out to be false, all three of you will receive a detention." With that, Professor McGonagall left the room. She was back ten minutes later, looking quite pale. "You may go," she said shakily. "Professor Dumbledore will want to speak to you about this soon. When he does, I shall find you."

That evening, Professor McGonagall took Harry, Ron and Hermione to Professor Dumbledore's office. He told them that the dragon egg had been taken by a specialist team from the Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures. They were relieved to hear that Hagrid had not been arrested, as Dumbledore had managed to talk the Department officials down to a heavy fine. The fine was more money than Hagrid had, but he was able to pay it by giving the officials a bundle of unicorn hair that he had collected in the Forbidden Forest. However, Professor Dumbledore suggested to the three of them that they avoid talking to Hagrid for a while.

The next morning, Professor Dumbledore announced at breakfast that the third floor corridor was no longer out of bounds. "He must have worked out that if Hagrid let anything slip to whoever gave him the egg, the Stone's not safe there anymore." said Harry quietly to Ron and Hermione.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: The Forest Detention**

_The following morning, notes were delivered to Harry, Hermione and Neville at the breakfast table. They were all the same: "Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr Filch in the Entrance Hall. Prof. M. McGonagall." _ _Harry had forgotten they still had detentions to do in the furore over the points they'd lost, _but something didn't seem right about it. Their punishment for being out of bed was to be done when they should be in bed?

After Transfiguration, he nervously stayed behind to ask Professor McGonagall about it. "Er.. Professor? I got the note at breakfast, but something's not right about it to me…" He trailed off as Professor McGonagall fixed him with a hard stare. "Your punishment will stand, Mr Potter. Do not force me to have to assign you another detention." "So if you decided what our detention is Professor, why is it at a time when we should be in bed?"

Professor McGonagall blinked in surprise. "And another thing, why didn't the note say what the detention actually _is_? Unless it's something that nobody else must find out, so they don't try to get a detention and get the same punishment." Harry stopped talking, as Professor McGonagall had gone quite pale. "Mr Potter, never in all my years of teaching, has such a logical argument against a detention been presented to me. I will speak with Miss Granger, Mr Longbottom and Mr Malfoy. Your detention will stand – however, you will now be serving it at eight o'clock, with me."

Later, Harry was met by a relieved looking Neville. "I don't know what you said to McGonagall, Harry, but she cancelled my detention and gave the fifty points back." "Really?" "Yeah! She asked why I'd been with you, and when I said it was only because I couldn't remember the password and nobody let me in to the common room all evening, she said it wasn't right for me to be punished for something that's not my fault."

At dinner, Hermione told Harry much the same. "I told Professor McGonagall that I'd been trying to stop you, and she cancelled my detention, gave fifty points back, and then gave another twenty for trying to do the right thing." Ron then slid down onto the seats beside them, wearing an enormous grin. "Guess what I've just seen." "What?" "McGonagall shouting at Malfoy. I guess she got it out of him why he was out of bed, trying to get us in trouble." At that moment, the clattering sound of the house point hourglasses drew their attention. Harry brightened up at seeing the Gryffindor glass fill back up to where it had been, but felt even better at seeing the Slytherin one drain. "She must have given the last of our points back, and then taken the hundred and fifty from Malfoy," laughed Ron. "Serves him right."

A minute later, Malfoy slunk into the Hall and sat at the Slytherin table. It was hard to ignore the dark looks the rest of the Slytherins were giving him. Professor McGonagall followed him in, and came up to Harry. "Mr Potter, you no longer have to serve your detention. Mr Malfoy will be taking it in your place."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Now Year 2**

**Chapter 9: The Diary**

_Context: Harry and the Weasleys have just been to Diagon Alley._

When they arrived back at the Burrow, they all stood round while Mrs Weasley brushed the soot off them, then all took their purchases to their rooms. A few minutes later though, Mr Weasley called up the stairs in a serious voice, making Harry jump "Boys! Come down!" "What's going on?" Harry asked Ron. "Dunno," replied Ron, "Dad never shouts like that unless something's really wrong or important." When Harry got down to the kitchen, he saw Mr and Mrs Weasley looking quite stern, and Ginny sat at the table, looking nervous. A plain looking book with a black cover was on the table in front of her.

"What's the problem, Dad?" asked Fred. "The problem," said Mr Weasley, pointing at the book, "Is this. We didn't buy it, and yet it ended up inside Ginny's cauldron. Do any of you have any idea how it got there?" Harry had a sneaking suspicion, so he asked "Ginny, where _exactly_ did you find it?" "In – inside my _Beginner's Guide To Transfiguration._" she sniffed, looking like she was about to cry. George gasped, connecting the dots first. "Dad - that was the book Mr Malfoy got hold of before you hit him. Maybe he put it in there before he gave it back." Mr Weasley scowled, and drew his wand, jabbing it at the book. A second later, he turned as white as a sheet, as a small black cloud burst out of the book before being sucked back in. "Molly," he said, "I'm going to have to take this into work and have an Auror look at it. Whatever it is, it's an _extremely_ Dark object."

Mrs Weasley collapsed into a chair in shock, and Ginny fainted, as Mr Weasley used the fireplace tongs to pick up the book, then left for the Ministry. Too stunned to do anything else, Harry and the other Weasleys went back upstairs. "What's an Auror?" asked Harry. "Dark wizard catcher." replied Ron, as they sat down to play a game of chess a while later.

Mr Weasley was out all day, and didn't get back until teatime. When he did, he told them all what had happened. "I took the thing to the Auror Office to have them check it out. Thankfully, Moody was in. He knew straight away it was dangerous, and took me down to the Department of Mysteries to hand it over to them. They destroyed it." "It was that bad?" asked Fred. "Yes, it was, and then Moody grilled me for three hours on where it had come from. And then, once he let me go, he got a team of Aurors and went and arrested Lucius Malfoy. Then they dosed him with Veritaserum – makes you say nothing but the truth, Harry, very hard to make – and got a goldmine of information out of him. He's on his way to Azkaban now."

Harry and Ron grinned at the news. Hopefully, the fact his father was in prison would stop Draco Malfoy acting like he owned Hogwarts and bothering them whenever he could.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: The Sealed Barrier**

"_I think we'd better go wait by the car," said Harry. "We're attracting too much atten-"_

"_Harry!" said Ron, his eyes gleaming. "The car!" "What about it?" "We can fly the car to Hogwarts!"_

Harry looked at Ron sceptically. "Or," he said, "we can send your dad a note with Hedwig, and he can get help." Ron returned Harry's sceptic look. _"We're stuck, right? And we've got to get to school, haven't we? And even underage wizards are allowed to use magic if it's a real emergency, section nineteen or something of the Restriction of Thingy…" _He trailed off as Harry shook his head. "I bet there are conditions or something, like, you're only allowed if there's absolutely nothing else you could do. Besides, if we took the car, we'd technically be stealing it, wouldn't we, since it's your dad's?"

Admitting defeat, Ron started pushing his trolley back to the entrance of King's Cross, Harry following close behind, Hedwig still drawing stares from people. When they got to the car, Harry opened his trunk and pulled out a scrap of parchment. "Mr Weasley," he wrote, "the barrier to Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters sealed up and wouldn't let me and Ron through. We're by the car. Please help!" He gave Hedwig the note, and she gave a screech of celebration at being let out of her cage before flying off. A few minutes later, Mr and Mrs Weasley appeared out of the air with a soft _pop_, along with a man in a smart navy suit and peaked cap with a brass badge on it that read "Hogwarts Railway".

As Mrs Weasley fussed over them, the railway man gave Harry and Ron each a red ticket with HOGWARTS RAILWAY EMERGENCY TICKET: NO FARE written in large black letters, before disappearing with another soft _pop_. "Now, Harry," said Mr Weasley, "Once you get on, hold tight. You don't need a trip to the hospital wing before school's even started." Harry was about to ask what he was supposed to get on, as Mr Weasley stuck out his wand.

Suddenly, with a loud _bang,_ a bright purple triple decked bus screeched to a halt in front of them, appearing out of nowhere. A man in a purple uniform got off. "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this morn…" Mr Weasley cut him off by shoving the tickets in his face, before helping Harry and Ron get their luggage on the bus.

Harry did not enjoy the next several hours. The bus zoomed at a breakneck pace all over the country, ignoring roads, buildings, trees, and on one occasion, a river. Whenever the bus stopped to let somebody off, they always looked relieved to be going. Stan Shunpike gave Harry and Ron a packet of sandwiches each at lunchtime, but they didn't eat them for fear of bringing them up again as the bus jolted about violently.

Finally, the bus arrived at the gates of Hogwarts. Harry and Ron dragged their luggage off, looked around, then grinned. Draco Malfoy was lying on the ground on his back, his face as white as a sheet. It looked like the Knight Bus had come to a halt about an inch away from running him over. As Hermione came running over to them, Harry hoped that with such an amusing sight, Malfoy wouldn't bother him this year.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Only Hermione Realised The Monster Was A Basilisk**

_Context: The History of Magic class in which Binns speaks about the Chamber has just finished._

As the second years left the classroom, Harry was deep in thought. "I've got an idea!" he said. "Instead of trying to find out where the Chamber is, why don't we try to work out what Slytherin's monster is?" "What good would that do, though?" asked Ron. "Even if we worked out _what_ it is, we still wouldn't know _where_ it is." "But if you knew what the monster was, you could work out where it _isn't_, or where it couldn't be – or maybe even how to kill it." As one, Harry, Hermione and Ron hurried for the library, their dinner forgotten. This was important.

"There are two points we need to focus on," Hermione said as they ran. "Slytherin himself, and creatures that petrify you. Mrs Norris wasn't injured, so she wasn't bitten or scratched, so it has to be caused some other way." Suddenly, Ron stopped dead in his tracks. Harry and Hermione turned to see him standing in the middle of the corridor with wide eyes and giving an impression he was ready to run; looking at a line of spiders moving along the floor as fast as they could, up to a silken thread which Harry traced up to an open window. "That's strange," Hermione said. "I've never seen spiders act like that." Ron was still fixated on the spiders. "I-don't-like-spiders." he said. "I never knew that," said Hermione. "You've used them in potions loads of times." "I don't mind them _dead_, I just don't like the way they move." Hermione giggled. "You wouldn't like them either," he said as they carried on down the corridor, "if your brother turned your teddy bear into one when you were three because you accidentally broke his toy broomstick."

When they got to the library, Ron began pulling all the bestiaries he could find off the shelves. Harry started on a copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, _while Hermione grabbed _A Biographic Record of the Founders of Hogwarts._ "The Slytherin emblem is a snake," he said, so I reckon the monster must be one." He started scanning the entries. "Ashwinder – Is a snake, but doesn't petrify, and the castle would have burned down centuries ago, because they only live for an hour, and the eggs burn down houses in minutes if you don't manage to find and freeze them, so not that. Runespoor – Is a snake, but it's only six feet long. They don't live very long, because they have three heads and tend to attack each other."

Ron looked up from the book he was checking. "Cockatrices petrify you," he reported. "Wait.. hang on.. Oh. It happens if you get scratched with their beaks, and it only lasts for a day." He turned the book around, to show Harry a picture of something that looked like an extremely ugly and scaly chicken with leathery, bat-like wings.

Hermione slammed _A Biographic Record_ shut and announced that the only relevant information about Salazar Slytherin and snakes was that he was a Parselmouth, which meant he could speak to them. "Wait," said Harry. I've seen something about Parselmouths controlling something." He flicked back through _Fantastic Beasts_. "_The Basilisk is a brilliant green serpent that may reach up to fifty feet in length. It has exceptionally venomous fangs but its most dangerous means of attack is the gaze of its large yellow eyes. Anyone looking into these will suffer instant death. Given a suitably large food source, the Basilisk can attain a great age. Herpo the Foul's Basilisk is reported to have lived for nine hundred years."_ "There's a bit about them being illegal to make, but then it says –_ "However, since Basilisks are uncontrollable except by Parselmouths, they are as dangerous to most Dark wizards as anybody else."_"

Ron's face went pale, and he held up the book he'd been reading from. "It says in here that spiders flee from Basilisks, and that a rooster cry is fatal to them. But if looking it in the eye kills you, how come Mrs Norris didn't die?" "Because it requires direct sight!" Hermione gasped. "There was a puddle on the floor, remember? She saw the _reflection_ of the eyes. And we know how it's getting around, too." "We do?" "A puddle on the floor, Ron. A _big _puddle. For a puddle that size, inside, the water must have been coming out of the plumbing."

Now all three of them had pale faces. At Hermione's insistence, they put the books back before rushing to find Professor McGonagall. She didn't believe them when they told her theY had worked out what Slytherin's monster was, but she was walking alongside Professor Dumbledore, who did. "I apologise for what you are about to hear," he said, "but I must ensure the school's safety. You may wish to cover your ears." He drew his wand and pointed it at his throat. "_Sonorus!_" he said. When next Professor Dumbledore spoke, his voice boomed throughout the castle. "_ATTENTION. THIS IS PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE. ALL STUDENTS AND STAFF ARE TO EXIT THE CASTLE IMMEDIATELY AND ASSEMBLE BY THE QUIDDITCH PITCH. PREFECTS AND HEADS OF HOUSE, ORGANISE YOUR HOUSES BY PERFORM A HEAD COUNT. GHOSTS AND PORTRAITS ARE TO ASSEMBLE AT THE BASE OF THE GRAND STAIRCASE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE."_

As they hurried outside, Harry asked "Er, sir? Why are we all going outside?" "It is a space large enough to contain everyone in the school, Harry, and it is not inside. Given what you have just learned about Basilisks, imagine what would happen if it were to emerge, right now, from its hiding place, and proceed to the Great Hall." "They'd – they'd all die, sir." "That would be the case, yes. However, among Hagrid's duties as groundskeeper is dealing with the flock of chickens which provide us with eggs. Since the school has chickens, we have roosters. All that is needed is for us to admit a rooster to the castle with the same spell cast upon it that I just used, and then induce it to crow. The crow will carry throughout the castle, and then the ghosts and portraits shall be requested to search for the Basilisk – including within the plumbing."

A few minutes later, the castle echoed again with the crowing of a rooster. It took all afternoon for the search to be completed, but eventually, Nearly Headless Nick reported that there was a tunnel beneath the sinks in the out-of-order girls' bathroom on the second floor. He had followed it to its end, and had come to a large metal door with snakes on it. Beyond the door was a large chamber with more snake imagery, and a large stone sculpture of Salazar Slytherin's face. Lying in the chamber was a dead Basilisk.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Lockhart's Incompetence**

"_Stand back," said Lockhart who was rolling up his jade-green sleeves._ As Lockhart pointed his wand at him, Harry kicked his leg up as hard as he could, hitting Lockhart in his knee. "_Brachium Emendo!"_ said Lockhart loudly as he stumbled. Then his face turned a shade of green very similar to his robes, as he said "Ah. Perhaps the hospital wing would be best. I suddenly find myself needing to pay a visit there as well. If somebody could help me get there?" Lockhart's left arm now resembled a flesh coloured rubber glove, and his right leg had collapsed. He had intended to mend Harry's bones, but ended up removing his own.

When Harry and Professor Lockhart got to the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey was furious at Lockhart. She gave Harry a nasty tasting potion to drink that mended his arm within a few minutes. While he sat and let it work, he watched the highly entertaining sight of Madam Pomfrey shouting at Lockhart. "What in Merlin's name were you thinking?!" she screamed at him. "Using a Healer's spell in the first place, and beyond that, one unsuited to the problem! _Brachium Emendo_ is for use on compound fractures, and compound fractures only, you imbecile! Of course, you would know that if you were a qualified Healer, which you aren't! It's just as well the boy kicked you and made you hit yourself with it, otherwise the charges against you would be worse!"

Lockhart's face went pale. "Charges?" he said weakly. "Yes, Gilderoy, charges. As in _criminal_ charges. As a Healer, and more importantly, the Healer in charge here, in matters of Healing, I can bring charges against you, those being – Attempting to practise Healing without qualification, attempting to practice Healing on a child, and multiple counts of _actually_ practising Healing without qualification, since Mister Potter was kind enough to mention that you said you'd used _Brachium Emendo_ "countless" times. Oh, and in addition to the charges, you're fired. As Healer in charge, I have a duty to those under my care, and I find you a danger to them. And the Headmaster can't do anything about it. Not since Professor Derwent established in the school charter in 1741 that the school Healer has the authority to override the Headmaster in decisions or matters related in any way to Healing or the medical welfare of the students. And since I find you a danger to their welfare, I can override Professor Dumbledore's decision to hire you. Tomorrow morning, once your bones have grown back, you'll be leaving the castle and heading for a cell at the Ministry."

His potion having run its course, Madam Pomfrey let Harry leave the hospital wing, leaving Lockhart behind.

**A/N: And the moral of the story – don't mess with doctors, especially not when they're the Chief Medical Officer!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 – Year 3 – The Magical Menagerie**

"_What powers does he have?" said the witch, examining Scabbers closely. "Er-" said Ron. The truth was that Scabbers had never shown the faintest trace of interesting powers. The witch's eyes moved from Scabbers's tattered left ear to his front paw, which had a toe missing, and tutted loudly. "He's been through the mill, this one," she said. "He was like that when Percy gave him to me," said Ron defensively. "An ordinary, common or garden rat like this can't be expected to live longer than three years or so," said the witch._

"Well, he isn't ordinary then, is he?" said Harry. Ron and the witch blinked in surprise. "Ron's had Scabbers for three years already, and Percy had him before that." "Yeah," said Ron, "Percy got Scabbers in his first year, and gave him to me when he got Hermes – his owl - for becoming a prefect." "And since Hogwarts prefects are chosen in fifth year," concluded the witch, "your rat is at least eight years old. If you wait here, I'll take him in the back and do some tests on him – nothing painful- to see what powers he has beyond long life, if any."

The witch pocketed her glasses and took Scabbers into the back room of the shop. Harry, Ron and Hermione waited, the two boys looking at the basket of humming yellow balls of fluff, while Hermione took an interest in an enormous ginger cat curled up on a high shelf. "What _are_ these?" asked Harry. "Puffskeins," said Ron. "They don't do anything except sit there and purr. They've got really long tongues, so they stick them out like worms, to try and find food. We had one when I was five, but it died when Fred decided to use it for Bludger practice." Just then, a scream and a cry of "_Stupefy!" _came from the back room. The shop witch came out, looking pale. "Young man," she said to Ron, "I'm afraid you won't be getting your rat back." "Why?" he asked worriedly. "Because he's not a real rat – he's an Animagus. I'm going to have to ask you to leave, I need to close the shop until the Ministry sends someone out here to deal with him."

A couple of minutes later, they left, Hermione's arms clamped around the ginger cat. As they met up with the rest of the Weasleys, Mrs Weasley asked "Did you get Scabbers seen to, Ron?" "Er- sort of, Mum." "What do you mean, "sort of"?" "The witch behind the counter took him in the back room, to do some tests on him, to find out if he had any powers," Ron said carefully, "'cos Harry pointed out Scabbers couldn't be a normal rat, 'cos he'd already lived more than double the time normal rats do – then we heard her scream and she came back out and said I wouldn't be getting Scabbers back."

"Why not?" asked Mr Weasley. "She said Scabbers was actually an Animagus, Mr Weasley." answered Hermione. "She let me buy Crookshanks," – everyone noticed the cat for the first time – "but then she closed the shop, because she needed to get someone from the Ministry."

At the Leaky Cauldron the next morning, the main room was abuzz with discussion. Grabbing a copy of the _Daily Prophet _from a table, Harry read the front page headline: "PETER PETTIGREW DISCOVERED ALIVE AFTER 12 YEARS BELIEVED DEAD – UNREGISTERED ANIMAGUS - SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT!" Scanning the article, Harry learned that Peter Pettigrew was the man Sirius Black had been imprisoned for killing, along with 12 Muggles. The Ministry had interrogated Pettigrew under Veritaserum, whatever that was, and had learned that it was Pettigrew who had actually committed the crime. He had blown up a street and then transformed into a rat – Scabbers – and escaped into the sewers. Naturally, this meant Sirius Black was innocent, but the article writer wondered how Black was going to be told the Ministry knew that, since he had escaped Azkaban and was on the run.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** I know this one doesn't involve Harry directly, but I couldn't resist.

**Chapter 14: Lupin solves Snape's dislike of him, Harry, and Neville.**

Snape scowled as he went through the homework assignments piled in front of him. His scowl darkened as his office door opened and one of the two people in the castle he hated the most walked in. "Lupin," he said darkly. "To what do I owe this visit?" In answer, Lupin held up a small vial, which Snape recognised as Veritaserum, taken from his own stores. "I'm going to prove something to you, Severus. A better man would have put aside his schoolboy grudges years ago, but you clearly need convincing to do so."

With that, Lupin opened the vial and carefully trickled a small dose of the potion down his throat. When he next spoke, it was in the calm tone that Snape knew proved the potion had taken effect. "The incident in which you saw me transformed – I knew nothing about it until after the fact."

Snape's jaw dropped. "Why then," he asked once he recovered himself, "did you not tell me at the time?" "I knew that you would not have believed me." As the Veritaserum wore off, Lupin shook his head and blinked several times. "Incidentally, Severus, a piece of advice. Either remove your memories of James, or speak to Dumbledore and have him Obliviate you of them. You are allowing your hatred of James to spill over onto Harry, solely because he looks like his father – a father he does not remember! The only reason he acts towards you the way he does is because you started it!"

Snape's jaw dropped again, and Lupin turned to leave, delivering a final verbal blow as he did so. "Also, you no doubt heard that Neville Longbottom's Boggart was you, Severus. Might that not be linked to his performance in your class? The boy is scared of you, which makes him make mistakes out of nerves. You then ridicule him for the mistakes, thus making him feel worse. It is a vicious circle."

As his office door swung closed behind Lupin, Snape sat in thought. If he changed his behaviour, Potter and Longbottom might change theirs, and maybe even other Gryffindors…

For the next week, the main subject of discussion among the Gryffindor third years was why Professor Snape was being _nice_ to them all of a sudden. Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil both spent a day in the hospital wing after Madam Pomfrey suspected them of having gone mad when they talked about him giving them points, within earshot of her.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Malfoy & Buckbeak**

_Malfoy, Crabbe & Goyle had taken over Buckbeak. He had bowed to Malfoy, who was now patting his beak, looking disdainful. "This is very easy," Malfoy drawled, loud enough for Harry to hear him. "I knew it must have been, if Potter could do it… I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?" he said to the Hippogriff. "Are you, you great ugly brute?" It happened in a flash of steely talons; Malfoy let out a high-pitched scream and next moment, Hagrid was wrestling Buckbeak back into his collar as he strained to get at Malfoy, who lay curled in the grass, blood blossoming over his robes. "I'm dying!" Malfoy yelled, as the class panicked. "I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!" "Yer not dyin!" said Hagrid, who had gone very white. "Someone help me – gotta get him outta here-" Hermione ran to open the gate as Hagrid lifted Malfoy easily._

Harry thought quickly. No doubt Malfoy would use this incident as a way to get Hagrid sacked. His father, Lucius Malfoy, while no longer on the Hogwarts board of governors, was still rich, and deep pockets meant influence. He _had _bought his son's way on to the Slytherin Quidditch team the previous year by donating seven Nimbus Two Thousand and One broomsticks, after all. "Hagrid!" he shouted, as Hagrid started running for the castle. "Malfoy insulted Buckbeak! I heard him! And don't forget you're a teacher!" Hagrid stopped and looked down at Malfoy, moaning for all he was worth. "Did ye now?" he said, his eyebrows furrowing together. Hagrid dropped Malfoy on the ground. "Then ye can get yerself up to tha 'ospital wing. It's yer arm, not yer legs tha's hurt. Ye can walk. An' twenty points from Slytherin, fer disobeyin' yer teacher." Malfoy slowly got to his feet, muttering something. Harry didn't hear him, but Hagrid did, because he then barked "An' another twenty an' a detention fer _insultin'_ yer teacher!"

Hagrid then turned back to the rest of the class. "Now fer homework," he said sternly, "Ah want yer to all write dahn what ye've learned abaht Hippogriffs, _especially_ abaht not insultin' 'em. "And as fer you – " he glared at the Slytherins in the class "- if I 'ear abaht any o' yer tryin' to get me in trouble over wha' happened to Malfoy, I'll be goin' to Dumbledore, and ye'll be outta mah class, and inta detention. Class dismissed."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Year 4 – Only The Organisers Know The Tournament Rules**

"_We must follow the rules, and the rules state clearly that those people whose names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound to compete in the Tournament." _Bagman was about to say something, but Harry interrupted him. "In that case," he said slowly, "I think that the Tournament should be cancelled and started over." Everyone stared at him as if he'd suddenly grown an extra head. "There are rules," he said, "which means that apart from having to be seventeen, nobody who put their name in knows what they are – including the Champions." He waved his hand at Cedric, Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum. "Mister Krum – you're an expert flyer. I was at the World Cup, I saw you. Suppose the rules say that to allow the contest to be fair to the other Champions, due to your greater skill, you're not allowed to use a broom, but they are. Would you still be willing to compete?" Karkaroff bristled with indignation, but Krum said "Nyet_._I vood not. I vood have my greatest skill taken from me, und dey vood have an advantage over me." Harry looked at all three of them. "You're all three years older than me. Suppose that I have to be forced to compete, and so to make it a fair contest, you can't use any magic I haven't learnt yet. Would you still compete?" The three Champions shook their heads. "No." "Non." "Nyet."

Harry continued on, noticing how the heads of the adults in the room were starting to nod, agreeing with him. "Suppose a Champion changes their mind. What happens then? Or if a Task requires them to do something they don't know how to do, like swim to the bottom of the lake to fetch something from the merpeople in there, as fast they can?" From the look of surprise on Bagman's face, Harry guessed that one of the Tasks was exactly that. Fleur Delacour also saw it and screeched in anger. "You would 'ave me go een a lake wiz _merpersonnes _een eet?!" she shouted. "Ah am a quartair Veela! Veela and merpeople 'ate each ozzer! Zey would kill me! Ah weel not do eet!"

"Indeed, Ludo," said Professor Dumbledore, Madame Maxime and Karkaroff grudgingly nodding consent. "It is only fair that the Tournament be restarted, with the prospective Champions being made aware of what the rules of the Tournament are – and what the Tasks are – beforehand." "But – but – the Goblet's gone out." Bagman spluttered. "It won't light itself again until the next Tournament." "And if this Tournament is cancelled and the next one immediately announced, then there's no problem, is there?" Harry said. "And put – no offence, Professor – better security on it, so no-one can enter me again."

It took a few minutes more of discussion, but eventually, agreement was reached. As the group filed back into the Great Hall, Professor Dumbledore stood in front of the staff table, and began to speak. "Your attention, please. Following certain irregularities – namely, Mister Potter's entry in the Tournament - _against his will_, Miss Delacour's refusal to participate in the planned Second Task, and the fact that aside from the requirement of being seventeen years of age, none of the Champions, nor those who submitted their names were made aware of the rules or details of the Tournament prior to their submission – the Triwizard Tournament is cancelled and, now, begun again."

As the Hall filled with noise, Professor Dumbledore fired off a trumpet blast from his wand to restore quiet. "The Goblet of Fire shall be relit tomorrow morning," he continued, "and placed in a room by itself, under constant observation by myself, Madame Maxime, and Headmaster Karkaroff. The rules of the Tournament shall be posted in the Hogwarts common rooms, this Hall, and the quarters of our guests. If you wish to enter, you must be seventeen, as before, but also in acceptance of the rules. To that end," he said sternly, "Prior to submitting your name into the Goblet, you will be required to take a dose of Veritaserum, and questioned as to whether you are who appear to be, if you are submitting yourself, that you are entering of your own free will, and that you have read and understand the rules and Tasks of the Tournament. The Champions shall be selected three days from tomorrow."

As Professor Dumbledore returned to his seat, the hubbub resumed. "Why'd Dumbledore say all that?" Ron asked Harry. "Moody said someone had Confunded the Goblet to think I was entered under a fourth school - _and_ I pointed out it wasn't fair to have to compete if you didn't know the rules before you put your name in," Harry replied. "You know how good a flier Krum is, suppose the rules said that you could only do something if the other Champions were as good at it as you – Krum couldn't use a broom. And the second task would have had us go in the Lake. You know there's merpeople in there, yeah?" Ron nodded. "Turns out Fleur Delacour's part Veela – and she said merpeople and Veela hate each other, and they'd kill her for it, so she refused to do it." Ron's eyebrows shot up. "Blimey! That's why she's so… so…"

The next morning, true to Dumbledore's word, the details and rules of the Tournament appeared where he'd said they would. They were the sole topic of discussion for the three days. "Dragons?! _Nesting mother_ dragons?! And you have to get a fake egg from one?!" "Swim to the bottom of the Lake – in February – to fetch a hostage?!" "A maze – doesn't sound too bad – but there's going to be class 4 and 5 X creatures in it – including an Acromantula?! Nope. Nope. Nope."

When the three days were up, the three schools gathered in the Great Hall. The three Heads stood in front of the staff table, looking solemn, but Ludo Bagman and Mr Crouch were nowhere to be seen. Neither was the Goblet of Fire. The Hall was silent as the students looked at the Heads. You could have heard a pin drop, but eventually, Professor Dumbledore spoke. "I must congratulate you all," he said. "The object of the Tournament was to foster a state of co-operation between our three schools, and you have succeeded admirably, although not in the way we expected. As the three days are up, I can inform you as a whole that _not one person, _from Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, or Durmstrang submitted their name to the Goblet. With that considered, the Tournament has been cancelled for the _second_ time. In its place –" he paused, his eyes twinkling, "there shall be an inter-school Quidditch championship." The Hall erupted with cheers.

Dumbledore let the cheers carry on for a few minutes before using the same trumpet blast as he had three days ago. "For Hogwarts students," he said, "there is another announcement to make. Professor Moody was discovered to not be who he appeared to be. Who he was truthfully is not for you to know, but the impostor has been arrested, and the real Professor Moody is currently recovering at Saint Mungo's, and he will be with us on Saturday. Until then, Defence against the Dark Arts classes are cancelled."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 – Leaving the Maze, and Harry and Cedric's Reaction**

"_So… on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!" said Bagman. "Three- two- one-" _He was about to give a short blast on his whistle, but Harry snatched it away from him with his Seeker's reflexes. "Hold on!" he said. "Regardless of who gets the Cup, how do we get out of the maze once one of has it?" Bagman's jaw dropped. "I can't believe I forgot!" he said. "It's a Portkey. Whichever of you grabs the Cup will be brought back here." Fleur scowled at Bagman. "Zat only works for ze winner," she said pointedly. "What about ze rest of us?" Bagman put on what he hoped was a reassuring tone. "It is a very complicated spell, but once the Cup has been touched, the maze has been bewitched to provide you with a safe path out. Now, Harry and Cedric, on three- two- one…"

*Time skip*

_Harry felt his feet slam into the ground; his injured leg gave way and he fell forwards; his hand let go of the Triwizard Cup at last. He raised his head. "Where are we?" he said. Cedric shook his head. They had left the Hogwarts grounds completely; they had obviously travelled miles – perhaps hundreds of miles – for even the mountains surrounding the castle were gone. They were standing instead in a dark and overgrown graveyard; the black outline of a small church was visible beyond a large yew tree to their right. A hill rose above them to their left. Harry could just make out the outline of a fine old house on the hillside._

Cedric looked down at the Cup. "This isn't part of the Task." he said. Harry nodded in agreement. "We'd better grab the Cup again, before whoever messed with it to send us here shows up." They hurried the few steps to the Cup – it had bounced away from them when Harry let go of it – and once again took hold of it. The now familiar hooking sensation returned, and when it stopped, Harry and Cedric found themselves back on the Quidditch pitch, right in front of Bagman, who gaped at them before announcing "A draw! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a draw between two of our Champions!"

As the crowd cheered, Harry let go of the Cup and dashed over to Professor Dumbledore, who was coming across the pitch with Karkaroff and Madame Maxime. "Professor, the Cup didn't bring us straight here," he said. "It took us to a graveyard first." Dumbledore frowned. "Indeed, Harry." he replied. "It appears that whatever plot had been devised was predicated on you being taken elsewhere." Harry noticed that both Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked uncomfortable. "We found Mister Krum and Miss Delacour in the maze, and found Mister Krum to have cast the Cruciatus Curse upon her. More worrying is the fact that Mister Krum did not do it of his own will, as he was found to be under the Imperius Curse. No doubt whoever was controlling him wished you to be the one to touch the Cup. I would be grateful if you and Mister Diggory would both come to my office to discuss your brief disappearance."

*Scene change – the Little Hangleton graveyard*

Pettigrew cowered before the diminutive form of Voldemort as his master berated him. "You fool! You incompetent, slow-witted fool! Potter was _right there_, and your delay in reacting was enough to let him get away! Be thankful I am not yet reborn, or you would be writhing under the Cruciatus yourself!"


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Year 5 – The Charges are Stupid**

_It's not a question of how impressive the magic was," said Fudge in a testy voice, "in fact, the more impressive the worse it is, I would have thought, given that the boy did it in plain view of a Muggle!" Those who had been frowning now murmured in agreement, but it was the sight of Percy's sanctimonious little nod that goaded Harry into speech, _but he quickly thought of what to say that would hopefully get them back on his side. "A Muggle who already knew about magic!" he said loudly. "The Muggle was my cousin – who I live with! He's known about magic since at least the day I got my first Hogwarts letter, as has my uncle! And as for my aunt, she's known since my mum got _her _first letter!"

The muttering of the courtroom dropped to stunned silence, before Dumbledore broke it. "If I recall, Cornelius, the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Sorcery states in Clause Three that if an underage witch or wizard is resident in the home of Muggle immediate relations or guardians, the witch or wizard cannot be prosecuted for magic performed in the view of any Muggles resident there, whether in the home or not, so long as there were no other Muggles present. And since it has been established there were not, no crime has been committed. Or is it your intention to also charge any Muggleborn who on returning home from Hogwarts, showed their families what they had learned?"

Fudge blustered for another few minutes, but eventually Harry left the courtroom smiling. "Cleared," he said to Mr Weasley, "of all charges!"

*Time skip*

"_I knew it!" yelled Ron, punching the air. "You always get away with stuff!" _"It's better than that," Harry grinned, "Dumbledore showed up and pointed out they couldn't charge me at all!" "What do you mean?" asked Hermione, no longer looking as anxious as she had when Harry walked in. "The law says you can't do magic in front of Muggles, but there's a great big exception – you _can,_ IF you're immediately related to them or they're your guardians, you live with them, and there weren't any other Muggles to see you." Hermione's jaw dropped. "You mean," she said shakily, "all this time, I could have shown my parents?" "Yep." "But, but, the notes we get at the end of each school year, saying not to do magic over the holidays…" "Those are just a formality, Hermione," explained Sirius. "The Ministry doesn't have the manpower to check every single use of magic. If you live in a wizarding house, they can't tell if it was you or your parents. They can tell who it is if the magic happens in a Muggle area, but not who the Muggles around you actually _are_, so to be on the safe side, Hogwarts tells you to not do magic. Someone could see you through the window, after all."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: Umbridge's First Lesson, Version 1**

"_Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourselves?" enquired Professor Umbridge in a horribly honeyed voice. "Hmm, let's think…" _said Harry in a thoughtful voice. He knew saying "Voldemort" would instantly cause problems, but there were plenty of other dangers in the world. "Maybe… paedophiles?" "Paedophiles?" repeated Professor Umbridge. "Yes, professor, paedophiles. People who for whatever sick and vile reason, are… er… _intimately_ _attracted,_ shall we say, to children like ourselves." Harry was pleased to see from the expression on Umbridge's face that she hadn't expected him to say that. "And then, of course, there's thieves, murderers, and other criminals." "Racist extremists," added Dean Thomas, raising his hand so Umbridge wouldn't snap at him. "People who want people who look like me, or Parvati and her sister, to "go back where we came from" or dead, because we don't have white skin." "Rapists." supplied Lavender Brown.

Surprisingly to Harry, Malfoy was the next to raise his hand. "Azkaban escapees, professor, "he drawled. "The fact that Sirius Black managed it proves the security measures are inadequate. It could happen again. And besides which, this _is _our O.W.L year. A critical year in our educations, especially since we'll start thinking about our future career options eventually. Lack of practice in practical defence could mean a failure in the exam. A failed OWL in _any_ class means we can't take the N.E.W.T. And the NEWT in Defence is a _requirement_ for becoming an Auror, among other positions."

"That is as maybe, Mister…" started Umbridge, but she didn't finish. "Malfoy – "Malfoy said. "I'm sure you've met my father, especially since he's a good friend of the Minister." Umbridge's face paled. Harry could guess at what she was thinking. All it would take is for Malfoy to send a letter to his father complaining about Umbridge, and she'd be gone. He glanced over at Malfoy and gave him a short, polite, nod. Malfoy blinked in surprise before returning it. The rest of the class went surprisingly well, and the next morning, Professor Umbridge was nowhere to be seen. The rumours circulated around the Great Hall, but when copies of the Daily Prophet landed on the tables with the post, the front page bore the news that she had resigned after a single day, claiming she had "come to the realisation that she was unsuited to a teaching position of such importance". In her place, Professor Dumbledore would teach the class himself, until he could find a suitable replacement.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Umbridge's First Lesson, Version 2**

"_I repeat," said Professor Umbridge, smiling in a very irritating fashion at Dean, "do you expect to be attacked during my classes?"_ Harry raised his hand again. He was feeling daring, but then Gryffindors were supposed to be daring. "Not necessarily during class, Professor_, _but by _you_, almost certainly." Umbridge's face turned red with fury, but Harry didn't stop. "It's common belief that the Defence teaching post is cursed. Our first year, Hermione was almost killed by a troll that got into the castle – let in by Professor Quirrell - who almost killed me at the end of the year.

Second year, Lockhart the fraud tried to wipe my and Ron's memories – and it was only because he'd grabbed Ron's broken wand instead of his own that he didn't manage it, and wiped his own instead. And that's not forgetting that the monster in the Chamber of Secrets – that had been attacking people since Halloween - was a basilisk, which kills with direct eye contact or with venomous fangs, and it was only through luck that no-one did look it directly in the eye.

Third year, the Dementors attacked me during a Quidditch match. and if it hadn't been for Dumbledore, I'd have fallen from my broom to my death – wouldn't _that_ have been a headline – "Dementors stationed at Hogwarts by Ministry kill Boy-Who-Lived", and Professor Lupin almost attacked me, Ron _and_ Hermione, but he'd forgotten to take his Wolfsbane Potion, so that wasn't really his fault.

And last year, our teacher turned out to be an escaped Death Eater impersonating Mad-Eye Moody with Polyjuice Potion. So yes, I do expect to be attacked, most likely in June." Umbridge's face had gone redder and redder as Harry laid out his thoughts. Then Hermione raised her hand. "There's something else, Professor. Since you were appointed directly by the Minister, have you considered that he may be hoping the curse will… _remove_ you in some way? Firing you would have repercussions for him, but if you died or did something that meant you had to be sent to Azkaban, he would be unaffected by it." Umbridge's jaw dropped, and her face turned from red to pale white. It was clear she hadn't.

The rest of the class went surprisingly well, and the next morning, Professor Umbridge was nowhere to be seen. The rumours circulated around the Great Hall, but when copies of the Daily Prophet landed on the tables with the post, the front page bore the news that she had resigned after a single day, claiming she had "come to the realisation that she was unsuited to a teaching position of such importance". In her place, Professor Dumbledore would teach the class himself, until he could find a suitable replacement.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Harry Is Sensible About The Blood Quill**

"_The old hag!" Ron said in a revolted whisper as they came to a halt in front of the Fat Lady, who was dozing peacefully with her head against her frame. "She's sick! Go to McGonagall, say something!" _Harry was about to reply that he wasn't going to give Umbridge the satisfaction, but Ron wasn't finished. "Over the summer, when we were clearing out – you-know-where – we found a quill that Moody said did the same thing as what's happened to you! It's a Dark artefact! Umbridge could end up in Azkaban!"

Harry took that in before nodding. "If she was just here to spy on us for Fudge, that would be one thing. What's next, her using the Cruciatus Curse on people in detention?"

Banging on the Fat Lady's frame to wake her up, they gave the password and headed to the dormitory to check the Marauder's Map. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. Right, where's McGonagall? Her classroom. We'd better go now, there's only twenty minutes till curfew."

A few minutes later, Harry and Ron walked into the Transfiguration classroom, where Professor McGonagall was marking homework. She looked up as they came in. "Mister Weasley, Mister Potter, what is it that requires my attention at this hour?" "It's Harry's detentions with Umbridge, professor." Ron said quickly. "Look at his hand!" Harry showed the back of his hand to her, and Professor McGonagall's expression became thunderous. The last time Harry had seen her like this, she had been shouting at Malfoy and his cronies when they dressed up as Dementors to try and scare him during a Quidditch match in his third year. "Mister Weasley," she said sharply, "Return to the common room. Mister Potter, you and I are going to the Headmaster."

As Professor McGonagall walked, she seemed to become crosser and crosser. When they reached the gargoyle that marked the entrance to Professor Dumbledore's office, she snapped "Sugar Quills" with such fury that that the gargoyle jumped aside so fast it looked instant. McGonagall charged up the stairs behind the gargoyle and didn't even bother to knock on the office door when she got to it. "Albus," she snarled, "that… _woman_… has a Blood Quill! And she has forced Mister Potter to use it, for hours at a time!" Now Professor Dumbledore was furious. Harry guessed this is what he had been like when he found out Mundungus Fletcher had run out on guarding him over the summer. He wouldn't have been surprised if sparks had shot out of Dumbledore's fingers and set the desk on fire.

Professor Dumbledore rose from behind his desk and strode to the fireplace, throwing something into the flames. Whatever it was, it wasn't Floo powder, because the flames turned purple instead of green. "Hogwarts," he said to the fire, "this is Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. A staff member is in possession of a Dark artefact, and has used it on a student. The staff member is Professor Dolores Umbridge. Engage disciplinary measure _Mute Prometheus_, authorisation Dumbledore-Twelve-Ice Mice, and notify the Director for Magical Law Enforcement." A loud and deep bell chimed, and the fire returned to normal. "Amelia will no doubt be on her way, Minerva." Professor Dumbledore said. "Would you please see that Dolores enters her care as soon as she arrives." McGonagall nodded and left. Harry was staring in wonderment at what had just happened. "Professor," he asked, "what was that?!" Dumbledore sighed. "Something I hoped that I would never had to use, Harry. Like all places of employment, Hogwarts issues contracts to its staff. Even though Madam Umbridge was appointed by the Ministry, she still had to sign a contract, or the magic of the castle itself would have prevented her from teaching. She evidently did not read the contract in sufficient detail, or simply forgot, that it states that no staff member may cause lasting physical harm to a student. The detentions she had you serve come under lasting harm. I am sorry, but you will bear another scar, in the form of the lines she had you write. Madam Pomfrey will be able to fade it, but not remove it completely."

Harry's mind was whirling. "Then why didn't the castle get rid of her after the first detention, sir?" "That is the sole failing in the contracts, Harry. The castle itself is aware of any violations, but it cannot do anything about them without the express permission of the Headmaster or their Deputy. And since neither I nor Professor McGonagall was aware of Madam Umbridge's treatment of you until just now, no action could be taken. To forestall what I think will be your next question; Mute_ Prometheus_ disarms its target, prevents them from speaking, and chains them to the nearest wall. Now, I think it is high time you went to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey will no doubt have something a lot stronger than Murtlap essence for you."

The next day, Professor Dumbledore announced at breakfast that Umbridge had been arrested for possessing and using a Dark artefact. Cheers filled the Hall, but none came from Slytherin.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Harry Is Forced To Think Logically About His Vision Of Sirius**

"_Listen," she said urgently, "Harry, we need to establish whether Sirius really has left Headquarters." "I've told you, I saw –" _Harry didn't managed to finish his sentence, as Hermione slapped him across the face. "Think, Harry." she said. "From the Ministry's perspective, Sirius is a mass murderer who escaped from Azkaban. Sirius knows that. He also knows that they already caught Sturgis Podmore, guarding the whatever-it-is that Voldemort wants, and that Mr Weasley got attacked by Voldemort's snake while _he _was on guard. So why would he leave Headquarters – where he's safe - to go to the Ministry? Now look at yourself from Voldemort's point of view. He wants you dead. He knows he has a connection with your mind. He knows, because Pettigrew will have told him, that Sirius is your godfather, so he and you care for each other. So, Voldemort exploits the connection between you, showing you a vision of him torturing Sirius, knowing your first reaction will be to run off to save Sirius, leaving the safety of Hogwarts to go to a place where Voldemort can kill you!"

Harry gaped, not just at the shock of Hermione's slap, but that she had managed to present such a strong argument. "So how do we check, then?" he asked. "We could use Umbridge's fire." Hermione shook her head. "Too risky – we might get caught. We can't send an owl, it'd take too long." Ron snapped his fingers. "Dobby!" he said excitedly. "Dobby practically worships the ground you walk on, Harry, so we give him a message to take to Sirius." "Dobby wouldn't be able to get inside Headquarters, though – he doesn't know where it is, " Hermione pointed out, "and Umbridge could order Dobby to tell her where Sirius is if we told him." Harry started laughing. "She could, but he wouldn't – he's free, remember, he can disobey if he wants to! And besides - Dumbledore is his boss, so even if he can't find Headquarters or Sirius, Dobby can still find _him_!"

Suddenly there was a _pop_, and Dobby was in front of Harry, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. "Master Harry Potter calls Dobby! Whatever job Master Harry Potter has for Dobby, he will do it, and if he does it wrong, Dobby will drown himself in the biggest bath Dobby can find!" "Er, there's no need for that, Dobby," Harry said quickly. "I need to you take a message to Professor Dumbledore, okay?" He grabbed a piece of parchment and quickly scribbled a note.

Professor,

I just had a vision of Voldemort torturing Sirius in the Department of Mysteries. Hermione thinks it's a trap. Is Sirius safe?

Harry.

"Dobby will take Master Harry Potter's message to Professor Dumbledore!" squeaked Dobby, taking the note and vanishing with another _pop_. Harry began to pace about nervously, waiting for a response. A few minutes later, Dobby returned with another piece of parchment. "Dobby has delivered Master Harry Potter's message, and Dobby has a reply for Master Harry Potter! Dobby must be going now, or other elves is wondering where Dobby is being!" Dobby disappeared with a final _pop, _and Harry read Dumbledore's reply aloud.

Harry,

Sirius is quite safe, and is currently grooming Buckbeak. Your vision was undoubtedly intended to be a trap. Were I back in the post of Headmaster, I would award fifty points to Miss Granger for strategic thinking in the face of urgency. I have alerted the Order, and those who can respond without seeming suspicious are now setting a trap of their own. BURN THIS NOTE TO ASH AFTER READING.

With a muttered "Incendio" the note was soon a small pile of ashes on the classroom floor, which Hermione then Vanished. The rest of the evening was spent in the Gryffindor common room worrying. The next morning, everyone was shocked by the headline of the Daily Prophet: DEATH EATERS CAUGHT ATTEMPTING TO STEAL FROM DEPARTMENT OF MYSTERIES! YOU-KNOW-WHO RETURNED, DUELS DUMBLEDORE IN ATRIUM! What was also surprising was that Umbridge was nowhere to be seen.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: I should have covered this, but I skipped over it when I first got to it.**

**Chapter 23: Year 4 Revisited – House Elf Slavery**

"_Slave labour," said Hermione, breathing hard through her nose. "That's what made this dinner. Slave labour." _ Harry paused in his cutting up of a large roast potato to say "There's two kinds of slavery, though, Hermione. One where the slave is forced into it by someone else, and one where they become a slave to pay off a debt because they don't have any other way of paying. How do you know which it is?" Hermione stared at Harry furiously. "It's slavery!" she said. "They work and don't get paid! That's wrong!" "They don't get paid in _money,_" he replied. "What if they get paid some other way? Like, what if they need magic to live, but they have to be working like they do in order to get it. For all you know, having a job, enough food to eat, and a place to sleep is all they want. Besides, from your definition of wrong, Professor Binns is a slave! He works, but doesn't get paid, or at least I don't think he does. He's a ghost – so what's he going to do with money?"

Hermione blinked in surprise as Ron cut in. "And you only know about two elves – Dobby and Winky. Dobby was _Malfoy's, _so you know they weren't nice to him, and you only saw Winky at the World Cup, when Mr Crouch was cross with her. You can't assume _all_ elves are treated like that! If our family had one, we wouldn't!"

As Harry and Ron carried on eating, Hermione came to a decision. "Well then," she said, picking her knife and fork back up, "I know what I'll be looking up first in the library."


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: This is less a plot hole, more of a "What if?"**

**Chapter 24: Sirius Black's Escape**

The atmosphere in the Auror Office was so thick you could have cut it with a knife, on the night that Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban. The Aurors were frantic, trying to determine Black's likely behaviour and narrow down a search area, not that they had much to go on. But retired Auror Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody did not care about tension. His paranoid mind, honed by decades of thinking as Dark wizards did, was once again employed in that task, as the Office had begged him to return on a temporary basis to help in the recapture of Azkaban's first escapee.

Moody sat at a desk in the Office, writing down the facts of the case as he considered them.

Fact One: Azkaban prisoners did not have possession of their wands.

Fact Two: It was impossible to Apparate into or out of the prison.

Fact Three: Prolonged exposure to Dementors without the guarding effect of a Patronus sapped the mind of the exposed, reducing them to a lethargic state in which they were barely capable of rational thought.

Fact Four: There were types of magic which one did not require their wand to perform.

Fact Five: Of these, only two could reduce the effect a Dementor had on one: Occlumency, and being in one's animal form, if one was an Animagus.

Fact Six: Even if Black was an Occlumens, he could not have escaped without assistance.

Fact Seven: Azkaban reported an escape, not an intrusion-and-escape, so Black did not have assistance.

Deduction One: Black is an Animagus, and takes the form of something of a size that can fit between the bars of an Azkaban cell.

Query: Based on Deduction One, why has Black waited twelve years before escaping?

Hypothesis One: Black has learned something that motivated his escape.

Moody paused in his deductions to grab his copies of the last week's worth of the Daily Prophet, and write down what he had come up with so far. He quickly parsed through the newspapers, his magical eye passing over them and seeing through each page to read the next one. He was aggravated to find nothing conclusive, so he decided to compile a profile of what he knew of Black.

Sirius Orion Black, son of Orion and Walburga Black. Began Hogwarts in 1971, sorted into Gryffindor. Known associates from that time: James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin… Moody's train of thought started down another track, gathering speed.

Fact Eight: The Werewolf Registry holds a record of Remus Lupin, bitten at age five by Fenrir Greyback.

Fact Nine: Remus Lupin was nicknamed "Moony" by his associates at Hogwarts.

Deduction Two: Lupin's associates called him "Moony" because they knew he was a werewolf.

Hypothesis Two: Based on their friendship, Lupin's associates became Animagi in order to safely support him during his transformations.

Fact Ten: Sirius Black's nickname was "Padfoot", James Potter's was "Prongs", and Peter Pettigrew "Wormtail".

Deduction Three: Black's Animagus form is some kind of carnivore (padded feet), James Potter's was something with horns, and Peter Pettigrew's was either a rat or mouse, as rats and mice both have tails that could be said to resemble worms.

Moody's thoughts changed track yet again. He knew he was onto something, and what ever it was, he was sure it was going to be big.

Fact Eleven: While at Hogwarts, Black and his associates had a reputation as pranksters.

Fact Twelve: It is believed, but not proven, that Black was the Secret Keeper for James and Lily Potter. Black is also recorded as being Harry Potter's godfather.

Hypothesis Three: Based on Facts Eleven and Twelve, Black was NOT the Secret Keeper for the Potters, as Black would most likely consider it a prank on everyone to be thought the Secret Keeper, when in fact he was not.

Fact Thirteen: After the death of the Potters, Black confronted Pettigrew. At the end of the confrontation, Pettigrew was believed dead, as only a finger was found of his remains.

Fact Fourteen: Prior to his escape, Black was heard repeatedly muttering "He's at Hogwarts".

Deduction Four: Referring to Hypothesis One, Black's escape was motivated by learning that "He" was at Hogwarts.

Moody's electric blue eye snapped back to the pile of _Daily Prophets_, making a connection. On the front page of the Wednesday issue was a picture of Arthur Weasley and his family in Egypt, the article detailing that they had won the _Daily Prophet_ Grand Prize Galleon Draw. On the shoulder of the youngest boy was a rat. The rat was missing a toe.

Fact Fifteen: Significant injuries such as loss of digits or limbs carry over to an Animagus' animal form.

Fact Sixteen: The youngest Weasley boy, as shown in the picture in the _Prophet_, owns a rat. The boy could be said to be "at" Hogwarts.

FINAL DEDUCTIONS AND HYPOTHESIS: Pettigrew is not dead. At the confrontation between him and Black on Halloween night 1981, he faked his death and has since been living in hiding as a rat. Black has escaped because he has learned where Pettigrew may be found. Based on the confrontation, it is likely that it was in fact Pettigrew that was the Potters' Secret Keeper.

ACTION TO BE TAKEN: When the Weasley family arrive back in Britain, seize the rat – fabricating an excuse – and perform the Homorphus Charm upon it. If it is found to be Pettigrew, take him into custody for interrogation, and disseminate that such has occurred, entreating Black to turn himself in, so that the truth may be exposed.

Throwing down his quill and picking up the parchment in one movement, Moody rose from his desk and clomped his way to the office of Amelia Bones, the head of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement. Something this significant deserved to be brought to her with all haste. There were days when he _really_ cursed his wooden leg. He hated it on a low, simmering level most of the time, but on the rare occasions when he needed a turn of speed that it prevented him attaining – those were the times he cursed it.

"Amelia," he barked as he opened her office door, "you wanted my help. You've had it." He threw the list of facts, hypotheses, and deductions on her desk. "Have a read and let me know how it goes," he said gruffly, turning around to leave. "I'm going back to my retirement." Stunned, Amelia Bones picked up the list, and as she read, her eyes widened. "If this is all true, Black is innocent," she thought to herself. "The Ministry'll take a blow for sure, keeping an innocent man in Azkaban for twelve years."

A couple of weeks later, the British public, wizarding and Muggle, were surprised to learn that new evidence had come to light which proved that "escaped murderer" Sirius Black was in fact innocent of the crime for which he had been incarcerated. They weren't informed of what the evidence was, save for the fact that the principle supposed victim, Peter Pettigrew, had been found alive.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Another "What if?"**

**Chapter 25: The Weasley Twins Pay Attention To The Map**

They had been back at Hogwarts for a fortnight, and third years Fred and George Weasley decided the time was ripe for the first of many pranks and tricks they planned to carry out through the year. From its hiding place beneath a false bottom in Fred's trunk, they pulled out their greatest tool in the field of mischief making.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The now familiar lines of the Marauder's Map bloomed into existence on the enchanted parchment. Who the Marauders were, beyond the names Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, they had no idea. "Now, Fred, who shall be the first recipient of our talents this year?" "Perhaps Professor Quirrell, George. A good shock might be what he needs to get rid of that stutter." "I quite agree, but conversely, it might also make it worse." "So, what shall it be? Fireworks in his office? Arranging circumstances such that his turban goes missing? Or perhaps –" "Hang on, check this, George. Ickle innocent Ronniekins is not so innocent. There is a "Peter Pettigrew" in bed with him."

The twins started sniggering, but as they wondered as to who Peter Pettigrew might be, they came to a realisation that made them feel sick. "Whoever Pettigrew is, he isn't a first year." "Ronniekins doesn't know anyone older than him – besides us and Percy, of course." "I think Mister Pettigrew needs to be caught in the act, Fred. "Definitely."

Carefully, they crept down through the tower to the first years' dormitory. Using the Map as a guide, they found Ron's bed, and slowly pulled open the curtains. The only person in the bed was their brother, but the useless rat Scabbers was lying on top of the blankets. "Mister Pettigrew has the means of becoming invisible." "No he doesn't." "How do you know?" "If he was invisible, the blankets would show where he was." "Wait, George. I've got an idea. Grab Scabbers."

Gingerly, George inched his hands towards Scabbers and picked the rat up, thankfully without waking him or Ron. "Now move somewhere," hissed Fred, "and if Pettigrew moves too, he's Scabbers – somehow." Fred looked at the Map in horror as the dots labelled "George Weasley" and "Peter Pettigrew" moved to the dormitory door. Wordlessly, he turned the Map to show his twin. Both their faces were pale. "Scabbers is a person, Fred!" "It's worse than it seems, too." "How could this _possibly _be worse?!" "Ron's only got Scabbers because Percy got Hermes for becoming a prefect. Scabbers belonged to Percy last year." "So, for the last four years…" "Pettigrew was sleeping with Percy."

The twins withdrew to the silent common room to make a plan. "So now we've got him, what do we do with him?" "We can't rat him out – heh, rat, pun – or the teachers'll want to know how we found out, and it would be betraying the Marauders if we were to hand over the Map." "Could we post him somewhere?" "Eh, he might escape." "Or the owl might eat him." George looked over at the portrait hole. "There is one option, but it's a bit dark." "What?" "Drop him down the Grand Staircase. He hits the bottom, breaks something, dies, turns back into a person. Nobody knows it was us, all they care about is how he got in." "Whoever he is, he's disgusting. I can't think of anything better that doesn't have risks and won't implicate us, so it'll have to do."

Forty-seven seconds later, the rat known as Scabbers hit the floor of the Grand Staircase with a snapping _thud_, transforming as he died into the man called Peter Pettigrew. The corpse was discovered the next morning by an early-rising Hufflepuff second year girl. Her scream was of sufficient volume to reach the seventh floor.


End file.
